Gunsmithing rem long action build

[orionsblade]

Hi guys,

glad to be a part of your community!

i have a project i'd like to tackle...but have a few questions as to how exactly to go about it. I have a remington 700 long action adl 3006...not terribly old but old enough to be an adl. its in great shape but i'd like to rebarrel it from sporter weight hunter to 300 win mag.

so i guess i have several things that i need to do to make this work...my goal is to have a rifle bedded in a decent stock for target shooting in 300 win mag with a barrel that will take the new higher bc pills.

i know bolt face will have to be opened up...obviously rebarreled and chambered...how to i adjust feed lips or change it from adl to bdl (any and all good stocks out there i'm even slightly interested in are bdl)...so what do i need to do or have done?

 

[RADcustom]

Re: rem long action build

Are you planning on doing this yourself or having someone do it?

 

[orionsblade]

Re: rem long action build

have it done for sure...i tinker with ar's but this kind of work is outside of my ability

 

[230grRN]

Re: rem long action build

The gunsmith will have to open the feedrails in the receiver for proper feeding of the Larger rounds. To go from ADL to BDL is pretty straight forward, its a matter of replacing the mag box with a BDL style and adding a BDL floor plate and possibly changing the follower spring IIRC. If you go with DBM its just a matter of buying the DBM you want.

 

[LRI]

Re: rem long action build

Hi,

If your new to this stuff allow me to introduce Pacific Tool and Gauge to you. They are located in White City, OR.

David Kiff (owner) makes drop in replacement bolt bodies for M700 Remington actions. For the cost of opening the bolt and changing the extractor you can just buy a new bolt body from him that will already have all the features your needing. You can also bump it up a bit and have a one piece bolt made. (meaning the handle is a physical part of the bolt body, not a soldered on piece.)

There are three popular extractor styles. The factory magnum extractor is a reliable piece. There's no reason to change it if you went with a PTG bolt. Then there's the AR-15 style. Also a good choice. Last is the Sako. I don't personally care for them at all, but lots of folks use them.

A new bolt is a win/win in a case like this because it allows you to keep your old bolt should you get an itch to build something different down the road.

Good luck.

C.

 

[orionsblade]

Re: rem long action build

thanks so much for the info,

most barrel makers have a service to install and chamber their barrels so the two issues i had were bolt face and feed rails. appreciate the input guys. i'll be sure to give you a heads up when i get things moving along.

c. can i ask why you don't like sako extractors?

 

[bohem]

Re: rem long action build

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: orionsblade</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

c. can i ask why you don't like sako extractors? </div></div>

I'll go ahead and suppose a response on Chad's behalf.

He likely doesn't use them for the same reason that I advise against them in 2-lug actions like a Remington, Winchester, Savage, etc... the Mauser type bolt head that has 2 diametrically opposed locking lugs up front.

In the event of a ruptured case head or even a severely ruptured primer (overpressure, bad brass, etc) the Sako-type extractors are free to travel down the bolt raceway that is on the ejector port side. This puts the shooter's face, body, guy next to him, etc. in a potential frag-pathway when such a thing happens. Sako extractors were designed to be reliable and function in a 3 lug action where the alignment to an exposed raceway is removed. The extractor itself is very good until a bad situation happens.

The mini-16 type does just as good of a job as the Sako but the blade that grabs the case is captured against a pin and locking lug so that there is a significantly reduced change of it being ejected from the action in a rupture event.


Now, if you're not totally set on the mag bolt face you should take a hard look at the 7mm family like the 280 Rem, 280 AI, and 284 Winchester. That would be the cheapest route and would still give you an exceptional rifle for long range targets, hunting, with a good balance of barrel life, component availability, excellent accuracy, etc.

Here's a long thread that discusses various aspects of caliber choice.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1877441&page=1

 

[tunacan]

Re: rem long action build

Another option would be to sell what you have, put the $350 that you would spend on a new bolt towards a Stiller for $850

You may very well be ahead by going that route vs having someone open up feedrails and all of the other bs you should do while your gun is ripped apart

 

[orionsblade]

Re: rem long action build

Thanks bohem, lots of great info in that topic thread you linked to me...geez. been reading for better part of an hour now and still lots to take in yet.

i like the prospect of the 280...as much as i'd like to fork out 850 for a stiller action...it's just not in the budget...best bet is to rebarrel, invest in a good stock, trigger, and bottom metal, and reloading componetnts. range time is passing me by with every opportunity i pass up.

 

[LRI]

Re: rem long action build

+1 for B's sako answer.

I wont instal one in a rem style action.

 

[bohem]

Re: rem long action build

Good luck with the caliber choice and the build.

ETA: My 280/7-06 rifle shot just like my 7 SAUM did, same bullets, same speeds but a different recoil pulse. The 280 was smoother, if that makes any sense. Same stock and everything.

The rifle was a friggin hammer, reliable well past 1500yd.

 

[2156SMK]

Re: rem long action build

Hard to go wrong with a 280 or a 284.
Both will use your 30-06 bolt which is nice as it keeps the budget a little smaller.
The 280 is a direct drop-in as far as your magazines are concerned.
The 284 would require a different magazine setup and possibly some action work on the feed rails, just like the 300 win mag would.

 

[orionsblade]

Re: rem long action build

the more i pour into the 280 and 7mm family...awesome clan with amazing credits.

what velocity boost could you expect with a 280 AI? looking into the berger hybrid pills or smk's with high bcs...

berger seems to recommend a lower twist rate for the grain weight of their double octive's...why is that? i would expect to need faster

 

[bohem]

Re: rem long action build

From a 28" barrel my 280 was comfortably pushing 180 Berger Hybrids at 2875fps with H4831sc and I wasn't hammering the cases, it was just shooting nicely. I did get them up to about 2950 but they started showing issues and I backed it off.

At 2875fps the load was awesome out to a mile.

The 175SMK is a great bullet you should take a very hard look at too. Excellent BC, known to shoot well "jumped" to the lands, price point is great, and extremely accurate.

The AI versions guys are reporting about 75-100fps faster across the board.

 

[orionsblade]

Re: rem long action build

which barrels are worth investing in? budgeting roughly 700 for the barrel and labor...plus or minus a little wiggle room. Krieger is top of my list but didn't know if you know anyone i should also look into.

barrel life is a big one for me. i'm shooting plates at distance...not x rings. BR accuracy is amazing if it is reasonable but i know i'm in a money game when it comes down to it and BR accuracy comes with a high price tag...let me get there and i will...but i want to get range time more than the best of the best

 

[bohem]

Re: rem long action build

I have personally fitted the following on my rifles or rifles for good friends:

Krieger (cut)
Bartlein (cut)
Brux (cut)
Shilen (button)
Hawk Hill Precision (cut)
Broughton (button, I believe, could be wrong)
Benchmark (button)
Hart (button)
Adams and Bennett (button, rack grade barrels with only 2 that surprisingly shot very well).

The money spent for any of them short of the A&B will get you a great barrel. The performance differences between them are effectively nil IMO. I've shot lots of rounds through buttons and cuts, some swear one way, some swear the other. The cut barrels have all shot extremely well but the best two I've ever owned in 75k+ match rifle rounds have been my current Hart tube and my last Shilen tube. Both are on a 6.5CM BigHorn actioned match rifle, both shoot well under 1/4MOA and until recently the Shilen was the smallest 5rd group I had ever fired at 0.154" @ 100yd

I cut out a slightly smaller group the other day with the Hart tube.



The bottom line on my advice is this:

Get a top quality barrel, don't fret too much over Button vs. Cut but above all: Make sure you pick a knowledgeable, capable rifle builder to install it. We see a lot more threads titled "my (insert shade-tree jerk 'smith) screwed up my $350+ blank and the rifle doesn't shoot" a helluva lot more than we see threads titled "(Insert Premium Barrel maker) made me a dud"

The rare times we do see a dud barrel thread, the 'Hide rep isn't generally far behind and they more than make good on it for the owner to stand up for the product.

Again, don't skimp on the barrel installer by trying to save $100 going to someone you don't know. Get a guy that knows his stuff and be comfortable knowing it will be done right.

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Re: rem long action build

Why not just build it as a 30-06. With the 190SMK it loses very little to the 300WM. Mine has made it to a mile with ease. I reccomend Krieger barrels, all mine are phenominal. The 30-06 is largly overlooked but it is still a great cartridge after 109 years.